Living in Brittany

Its an amazing year for apples last year hardly any this year its like a carpet of them in the orchard.Although we have nearly 50 trees only 3 are eaters the rest being cider apples specifically for making cider and of the eaters they are a variety which doesn't keep so its a matter how many can you eat in a day. I find 4 to be my maximum. At the moment we are doing a lot of gardening or tidying the back of the orchard there is an area where I have been dumping branches for a couple of years so I pulled out the shed a mulcher I bought a couple of years ago used it once and decided it was rubbish and hid under a pile of junk in my garden shed. This time I think I have sussed out how to use it and reduced a very big pile of branches to pulp or the bigger bits to be chain sawed into wood burner size
Last week I was out walking my dog ( Jimmy a very slight built dog lovely temperament, wouldn't hurt a fly,perhaps a chicken though ) pass the neighbours ,stopped and chatted when their big Alsatian jumped on Jimmy attacking him,she has a record as she has previously attacked Yann and he had to have loads of stitches. Now I remember someone telling me how you seperate dogs but it was obviously too intellectual and didn't listen so instead I kicked her a couple times in the ribs ( fortunately was wearing my working boots with hardened toe cap ) and she stopped attacking Jimmy and turned around to have a go at me by which time I had got my voice going,you have to speak in a testosterone manner and shout " get back " pointing and she turned around and slunk back into the farmyard.Fortunately the farmers wife had witnessed everything so she applied a little more "rustic " discipline , I almost felt sorry for the dog hearing it whimper in the distance.Still it didn't stop us giving the farmer the vets bill as our dog required a couple stitches